Henry Sears came from a long line of New England
seafaring men. His grandfather, David Sears, Jr.,
joined the New York Yacht Club in 1844, the year of
its founding. Sears studied oceanography at Yale and
worked at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute before
moving to New York in 1936. His sailing career began
in the Marblehead Brutal Beast Class. Later, he raced
an Alden O-Boat. In his youth. Sears crewed with such
legends as Charles Francis Adams and Charles P. Curtis
aboard a succession of R-Boats, Q-Boats, and German
built Sonder Boats. He started cruising aboard his
Alden Cutter, ACTAEA, in the 1920's and in 1936 built
the Paine 36, ACTAEA, that he sailed to finish third
overall in that year's stormy Bermuda race.

In 1956, after a nineteen-year hiatus in America's
Cup racing, Sears, as Commodore of the New York Yacht
Club, appealed to the Supreme Court of New York to
amend the Cup's Deed of gift. Greatly increased building
and operation costs, plus a shortage of qualified
hands, had virtually prohibited continuation of J-Class
racing. Harry Sears' action resurrected the competition
in smaller, more practical yachts, the 12-Meters.
Commodore Sears then served as syndicate head and
navigator of the 1958 Cup Defender, COLUMBIA. His
leadership ushered in a new era of fine racing for
the America's Cup that continues to this day, thanks
entirely to the action of Commodore Sears.